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A* .-i; 



A CHILD'S GARDEN 
OF VERSES 



**5t0rir5 211 Ctiil&rtn Cobr" 



THE WATEPw BABIES 

PEs'OCCHIO 
EOBES'SiJX CEUSOE 

Br-I aVIZI r ITC'Z 

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THE -"">- 7 -J IIIV J ' 3 7 "c.-.x 

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MOPS A EE:E E AIR Y 

THECHROV:':iI - :_J EAERY LAXD 

HANS AVDEE-EE S EAIEY TALES 



J. B. LIPPESCOTT CuMPAXY' 




The Gardener 

O ho%v much wiser you would be 
To play at Indian wars with me! 



M m 

A CHILD'S GARDEN 
OF VERSES 



BY 

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON 



ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY 
MARIA L. KIRK 




PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 

1919 



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IIXrTTBATIQMS COgYBtEBS, im^ BT J. B. LIFFD»COTT OOliPAXT 



BT J. B. LIPPTSOOrr COMPACT 



©t!:^535267 



TO ALISON CUNNINGHAM 

FROM HER BOY 

TTtOR the long nights you lay awake 
^ And watched for my unworthy sake: 
For your most comfortable hand 
That led me through the uneven land: 
For all the story-books you read: 
For all the pains you comforted: 
For all you pitied, all you bore. 
In sad and happy days of yore: — 
My second Mother, my first Wife, 
The angel of my infant life — 
From the sick child, now well and old, 
Take, nurse, the little book you hold! 

And grant it. Heaven, that all who read 
May find as dear a nurse at need. 
And every child who lists my rhyme. 
In the bright, fireside, nursery clime. 
May hear it in as kind a voice 
As made my childish days rejoice I 

R. L. S. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

I. Bed in Summer 15 

II. A Thought 17 

III. At the Seaside 18 

IV. Young Night Thought 19 

V. Whole Duty of Children 21 

VI. Rain 22 

VII. Pirate Story 23 

VIII. Foreign Lands 25 

IX. Windy Nights 29 

X. Travel 30 

XI. Singing 34 

XII. Looking Forward 35 

XIIL A Good Play 36 

XIV. Where go the Boats ? 38 

XV. Auntie's Skirts 40 

XVI. The Land of Counterpane 41 

XVII. The Land of Nod 43 

XVIII. My Shadow 45 

XIX. System 49 

XX. A Good Boy 50 

7 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

XXI. Escape at Bedtime 53 

XXn. AT ARCHING Song 55 

XXTTI. The Cow Z7 

XXTV. Happy Thought 59 

XX^'. The Wind 60 

XXVI. K"T7PTF > s4TrR AItt.t. 62 

XXVll. Good and Bad Childhen 65 

XXVm. Foreign Children 69 

XXIX . The Sun's Travels 73 

XXX. The Lamplighter 75 

XXXI. My Bed is a Boat 77 

XXXII. The Moon 79 

XXXIM. The Swing 81 

XXXIV. TiiiE TO Rise S3 

XXXV, Looking-glass Rrtlb S-4 

XXXn. Fairy Bread 87 

XXXVn. From a Eajlway Carriage 88 

XXXVni. Winter-time 90 

XXXTX The Hayloit 93 

XL. Farewell to the Farm 95 

XLI. North- WEST Passage: 

1. Good yighi 97 

2. Shadow March 99 

•5. In Port. . 101 

8 



CONTENTS 
THE CHILD ALONE 

PAGE 

I. The Unseen Playmate 105 

II. My Ship and 1 109 

III. My Kingdom Ill 

IV. PiCTURE-BoOKS IN WiNTER 115 

V. My Treasures 119 

VI. Block City 121 

VII. The Land of Story Books 125 

VIII. Armies in the Fire 129 

IX. The Little Land 133 



GARDEN DAYS 

PAGE 

I. Night and Day 141 

II. Nest Eggs 147 

m. The Flowers 151 

IV. Summer Sun 153 

V. The Dumb Soldier 157 

VI. Autumn Fires 163 

VII. The Gardener 165 

VIII. Historical Associations 169 



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190 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The Gardener Frontispiece u- 

how much wiser you would be 
To play at Indian wars with me ! 

Pirate Story 28 ^ 

Three of us aboard in the basket on the lea. 

The Land op Nod 43 

And up the mountain-sides of dreams. 

The Wind 60 *^" 

1 felt you push, I heard you call, 
I could not see yourself at all — 

The Swing 81 

Up in the air and down. 

The Hayloft 93 '^ 

The mice that in these mountains dwell 
No happier are than I. 

My Ship and 1 109 

And my ship it keeps a-turning all around and all about. 

The Little Land 134 --^ 

In that forest to and fro 
I can wander, I can go. 



A CHILD'S GARDEN 
OF VERSES 



BED IN SUMMER 

TN winter I get up at night 

And dress by yellow candle-light. 
In summer, quite the other way, 
I have to go to bed by day. 

I have to go to bed and see 
The birds still hopping on the tree, 
Or hear the grown-up people's feet 
Still going past me in the street. 



15 



.\:ii i:-is :: :i:- ST-in li:i to joo, 
^r^T^ L :_i 5£- 5 i.T-:: and blue, 
A:i i I si : . i _ke so mndi to jJay, 



To have to go to bed bv dav? 



II 



A THOUGHT 

TT is very nice to think 

The world is full of meat and drink. 
With little children saying grace 
In every Christian kind of place. 



2 17 



Ill 



AT THE SEASIDE 

l^THEN I was down beside the sea 

A wooden spade they gave to me 
To dig the sandy shore. 
My holes were empty Hke a cup, 
In every hole the sea came up. 
Till it could come no more. 



18 



IV 



YOUNG NIGHT THOUGHT 

A LL night long and every night, 
When my mamma puts out the Hght, 
I see the people marching by. 
As plain as day, before my eye. 

Armies and emperors and kings. 
All carrying different kinds of things, 
And marching in so grand a way. 
You never saw the like by day. 



19 



So fine a show was never seen, 
At the great circus on the green; 
For every kind of beast and man 
Is marching in that caravan. 

At first they move a httle slow. 
But still the faster on they go. 
And still beside them close I keep 
Until we reach the town of Sleep. 



20 



WHOLE DUTY OF CHILDREN 

A CHH/D should always say what's true 
And speak when he is spoken to, 
And behave mannerly at table; 
At least as far as he is able. 



21 



VI 

RAIN 

nnHE rain is raining all around. 

It falls on field and tree. 
It rains on the umbrellas here. 
And on the ships at sea. 



22 





Pirate Story 

Three of us aboard in the basket on the lea 



VII 



PIRATE STORY 

T^HREE of us afloat in the meadow by the 
swing, 

Three of us aboard in the basket on the lea. 

Winds are in the air, they are blowing in the 
spring. 

And waves are on the meadow like the waves 
there are at sea. 

Where shall we adventure, to-day that we're 
afloat, 

Wary of the weather and steering by a star? 

Shall it be to Africa, a-steering of the boat. 

To Providence, or Babylon, or off to 
Malabar.^ 



Hi ! but here's a squadron a-rowing on the sea — 

Cattle on the meadow a-charging with a roar! 

Quick, and we'll escape them, they're as mad 
as they can be, 

The wicket is the harbour and the garden is 
the shore. 



VIII 

FOREIGN LANDS 

T TP into the cherry tree 

Who should eUmb but Uttle me? 

I held the trunk with both my hands 

And looked abroad on foreign lands. 

I 
I saw the next door garden lie, 

Adorned with flowers, before my eye. 

And many pleasant places more 

That I had never seen before. 



I saw the dimpling river pass 
And be the sky's blue looking-glass; 
The dusty roads go up and down 
With people tramping in to town. 

If I could find a higher tree 
Farther and farther I should see, 
To where the grown-up river slips 
Into the sea among the ships, 



26 



To where the roads on either hand 
Lead onward into fairy land. 
Where all the children dine at five. 
And all the playthings come aUve. 



27 



IX 

WINDY NIGHTS 

\717HENEVER the moon and stars are set, 

Whenever the wind is high. 
All night long in the dark and wet, 

A man goes riding by. 
Late in the night when the fires are out. 
Why does he gallop and gallop about? 

Whenever the trees are crying aloud. 

And ships are tossed at sea,* 
By, on the highway, low and loud. 

By at the gallop goes he. 
By at the gallop he goes, and then 
By he comes back at the gallop again. 



TRA\^L 

T SHOULD like to rise and go 

Where the golden apples grow; — 
Where below another sky 
Parrot islands anchored he. 
And, watched by cockatoos and goats. 
Lonely Cnisoes building boats; — 
Where in sunshine reaching out 
Eastern cities, miles about, 
Are with mosque and minaret 
Among sandy gardens set, 
And the rich goods from near and far 
Hang for sale in the bazaar; — 

30 



Where the Great Wall round China goes. 
And on one side the desert blows. 
And with bell and voice and drum. 
Cities on the other hum; — 
Where are forests, hot as fire, 
Wide as England, tall as a spire. 
Full of apes and cocoa-nuts 
And the negro hunters' huts; — 
Where the knotty crocodile 
Lies and blinks in the Nile, 
And the red flamingo flies 
Hunting fish before his eyes; — 
Where in jungles, near and far, 
Man-devouring tigers are. 



81 



Lying close and giving ear 
Lest the hunt be drawing near. 
Or a comer-by be seen 
Swinging in a palanquin; — 
Where among the desert sands 
Some deserted city stands. 
All its children, sweep and prince. 
Grown to manhood ages since, 
Not a foot in street or house. 
Not a stir of child or mouse. 
And when kindly falls the night, 
In all the town no spark of hght. 
There I'll come when I'm a man 
With a camel caravan; 



Light a fire in the gloom 
Of some dusty dining room; 
See the pictures on the walls. 
Heroes, fights and festivals; 
And in a corner find the toys 
Of the old Egyptian boys. 



88 



XI 



SINGING 



/^F speckled eggs the birdie sings 

And nests among the trees ; 
The sailor sings of ropes and things 
In ships upon the seas. 

The children sing in far Japan, 
The children sing in Spain; 

The organ with the organ man 
Is singing in the rain. 



34 



XII 

LOOKING FORWARD 

'l^T'HEN I am grown to man's estate 
I shall be very proud and great. 
And tell the other girls and boys 
Not to meddle with my toys. 



35 



A GOOD PLAY 

T l/'E built a sMp upon the stairs 

All made of the back-bedroom chairs. 
And filled it full of sofa pillows 
To go a-sailing on the billows. 

We took a saw and several nails, 
And water in tlie nursery pails; 
And Tom said, *Let us also take 
An apple and a sHce of cake;* — 
Which was enough for Tom and me 
To go a-sailing on. till tea. 



We sailed along for days and days. 
And had the very best of plays; 
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee. 
So there was no one left but me. 



\/ 



37 



XIV 



CIS 



T^'HERE GO THE BOATS 

T^ARK brown is the river, 

Golden is the sand. 
It flows along for ever, 

With trees on either hand. 

Green leaves a-floating, 
Castles of the foam, 

Boats of mine a-boating — 
Where will all come home? 



On goes the river 

And out past the mill. 

Away down the valley. 
Away down the hill. 

Away down the river, 

A hundred miles or more. 

Other little children 

Shall bring my boats ashore. 



XV 



AUNTIE'S SKIRTS 



'IJIT'HENEVER Auntie moves around, 
Her dresses make a curious sound; 
They trail behind her up the floor, 
And trundle after through the door. 



40 



XVI 

THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE 

l^^THEN I was sick and lay a-bed, 
I had two pillows at my head. 
And all my toys beside me lay 
To keep me happy all the day. 

And sometimes for an hour or so 
I watched my leaden soldiers go. 
With different uniforms and drills. 
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills; 



41 



And sometimes sent my ships in fleets 
All up and down among the sheets; 
Or brought my trees and houses out, 
And planted cities all about. 

I was the giant great and still 
That sits upon the pillow-hill. 
And sees before him, dale and plain. 
The pleasant land of counterpane. 



42 




The Land of Nod 

And up the mountuin-sidcs of dreams 



XVII 

THE LAND OF NOD 

rj^ROM breakfast on through all the day 

At home among my friends I stay; 
But every night I go abroad 
Afar into the land of Nod. 

All by myself I have to go. 

With none to tell me what to do — 

All alone beside the streams 

And up the mountain-sides of dreams. 



43 



The strangest things are there for me, 
Both things to eat and things to see. 
And many frightening sights abroad 
Till morning in the land of Nod. 

Try as I hke to find the way, 
I never can get back by day, 
Nor can remember plain and clear 
The cm^ious music that I hear. 



44 



XVIII 



MY SHADOW 



T HAVE a little shadow that goes in and out 
with me, 

And what can be the use of him is more than 
I can see. 

He is very, very like me from the heels up to 
the head; 

And I see him jump before me, when I jump 
into my bed. 



The funniest thing about him is the way he 
likes to grow — 

Not at all like proper children, which is always 
very slow; 



45 



For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india- 
rubber ball, 

And sometimes gets so Httle that there's none 
of him at all. 



He hasn't got a notion of how children ought 
to play, 

And can only make a fool of me in even' sort 
of way. 

He stays so close beside me, he's a coward 
you can see; 

I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that 
shadow sticks to me! 



45 



One morning, very early, before the sun was 
up, 

I rose and found the shining dew on every 
buttercup; 

But my lazy Httle shadow, like an arrant sleepy- 
head, 

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast 
asleep in bed. 



47 



XIX 



SYSTEM 



T^VERY night my prayers I say, 
And get my dinner every day; 
And every day that I've been good, 
I get an orange after food. 

The child that is not clean and neat. 
With lots of toys and things to eat. 
He is a naughty child, I'm sure — 
Or else his dear papa is poor. 



XX 



A GOOD BOY 



T WOKE before the morning, I was happy- 
all the day, 

I never said an ugly word, but smiled and stuck 
to play. 



And now at last the sun is going down behind 
the wood. 

And I am very happy, for I know that I've 
been good. 



50 



My bed is waiting cool and fresh, with Hnen 
smooth and fair, 

And I must off to sleepsin-by, and not forget 
my prayer. 

I know that, till to-morrow I shall see the sun 
arise. 

No ugly dream shall fright my mind, no ugly 
sight my eyes. 



51 



But slumber holds me tightly till I waken in 
the dawn. 

And hear the thrushes singing in the Klacs 
round the lawn. 



ost 



XXI 

ESCAPE AT BEDTIME 

rpHE lights from the parlour and kitchen 
shone out 

Through the blinds and the windows and 
bars; 

And high overhead and all moving about, 

There were thousands of millions of stars. 

There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on 
a tree, 

Nor of people in church or the Park, 

As the crowds of the stars that looked down 
upon me, 

And that glittered and winked in the dark. 



53 



The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, 
and all 

And the Star of the Sailor, and Mars, 

These shone in the sky, and the pail by the 
wall 

Would be half full of water and stars. 

They saw me at last, and they chased me with 
cries. 

And they soon had me packed into bed; 

But the glory kept shining and bright in my 
eyes, 

And the stars going round in my head. 



54 



XXII 

MARCHING SONG 

T) RING the comb and play upon it ! 

Marching, here we come! 
WiUie cocks his highland bonnet, 
Johnnie beats the drum. 

Mary Jane commands the party, 

Peter leads the rear; 
Feet in time, alert and hearty, 

Each a Grenadier! 



55 



All in the most martial mamier 

Marching double-quick; 
WTiile the napkin like a banner 

Waves upon the stick! 

Here's enough of fame and pillage, 

Great commander Jane! 
Now that we've been roimd the village, 

Let's go home again. 



56 



XXIII 



THE COW 



npHE friendly cow all red and white, 

I love with all my heart: 
She gives me cream with all her might. 
To eat with apple-tart. 

She wanders lowing here and there. 

And yet she cannot stray, 
All in the pleasant open air. 

The pleasant light of day; 



57 



And blown by all the winds that pass 
And wet with all the showers. 

She walks among the meadow grass 
And eats the meadow flowers. 



58 



XXIV 



HAPPY THOUGHT 



rpHE world is so full of a number of 
things, 

I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings. 



59 



XXV 

THE TMXD 

T SAW you toss the kites on high 

And blow the birds about the sky; 
And all around I heard you pass, 
Like ladies' skirts across the grass — 
O wind, a-blowing all day long, 
O wind, that sings so loud a song! 

I saw the diflFerent things you did, 
But always you yourself you hid. 
I felt you push, I heard you call, 
I could not see yourseK at all — 

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 
O wind, that sings so loud a song! 

60 




The Wind 

I felt you push, I heard you call, 
I could not see yourself at all — 



O you that are so strong and cold, 
O blower, are you young or old? 
Are you a beast of field and tree. 
Or just a stronger child than me? 
O wind, a-blowing all day long, 
O wind, that sings so loud a song! 



61 



XXVI 



KEEPSAKE MILL 



/^VER the borders, a sin without pardon, 

Breaking the branches and crawhng 
below. 

Out through the breach in the wall of the 
garden, 

Down by the banks of the river, we go. 

Here is the mill with the humming of thunder. 

Here is the weir with the wonder of foam. 

Here is the sluice with the race running 
imder — 

Marvellous places, though handy to home! 



62 



Sounds of the village grow stiller and stiller. 
Stiller the note of the birds on the hill; 

Dusty and dim are the eyes of the miller. 
Deaf are his ears with the moil of the mill. 

Years may go by, and the wheel in the river 
Wheel as it wheels for us, children, to-day. 

Wheel and keep roaring and foaming for ever 
Long after all of the boys are away. 



Home from the Indies and home from the 
ocean. 

Heroes and soldiers vre all shall come home ; 

Still we shall find the old mill wheel in motion, 

Turning and churning that river to foam. 

You with the bean that I gave when we 
quarrelled, 

I with your marble of Saturday last, 

Honoured and old and all gaily apparelled, 

Here we shall meet and remember the past. 



64 



XXVII 

GOOD AND BAD CHILDREN 

/CHILDREN, you are very little, 

And your bones are very brittle; 
If you would grow great and stately, 
You must try to walk sedately. 

i 

You must still be bright and quiet. 
And content with simple diet; 
And remain, through all bewild'ring. 
Innocent and honest children. 



€5 



Happy hearts and happy faces, 
Happy play in grassy places — 
That was how, in ancient ages. 
Children grew to kings and sages. 

But the unkind and the unruly. 
And the sort who eat unduly. 
They must never hope for glory- 
Theirs is quite a different story! 



Cruel children, crying babies. 
All grow up as geese and gabies. 
Hated, as their age increases. 
By their nephews and their nieces. 



67 



XXVIII 

FOREIGN CHILDREN 

T ITTLE Indian, Sioux or Crow, 

Little frosty Eskimo, 
Little Turk or Japanee, 
O! don't you wish that you were me? 

You have seen the scarlet trees 
And the lions over seas; 
You have eaten ostrich eggs. 
And turned the turtles off their legs. 



69 



Such a life is very fine. 
But it's not so nice as mine: 
You must often, as you trod. 
Have wearied not to be abroad. 

You have curious things to eat, 
I am fed on proper meat; 
You must dwell beyond the foam. 
But I am safe and live at home. 



70 



Little Indian, Sioux or Crow, 

Little frosty Eskimo, 

Little Turk or Japanee, 

O! don't you wish that you were me? 



71 



XXIX 

THE SUN'S TRAVELS 

nnHE sun is not a-bed, when I 

At night upon my pillow lie; 
Still round the earth his way he takes. 
And morning after morning makes. 

While here at home, in shining day. 
We round the sunny garden play, 
Each little Indian sleepy-head 
Is being kissed and put to bed. 



73 



And when at eve I rise from tea. 
Day dawns beyond the Atlantic Sea, 
And all the children in the West 
Are getting up and being dressed. 



74 



XXX 

THE LAMPLIGHTER 

V/T Y tea is nearly ready and the sun has left 
the sky; 

It's time to take the window to see Leerie 
going by; 

For every night at teatime and before you take 
your seat, 

With lantern and with ladder he comes posting 
up the street. 

Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go 
to sea, 

And my papa's a banker and as rich as he 
can be; 



7« 



But I, when I am stronger and can choose 
what I'm to do, 

O Leerie, I'll go round at night and hght the 
lamps with you! 

For we are very lucky, with a lamp before 
the door. 

And Leery stops to Hght it as he Hghts so 
many more; 

And O! before you hurry by with ladder and 
with hght, 

O Leerie, see a httle child and nod to him 
to-night! 



7S 



XXXI 

MY BED IS A BOAT 

V/fY bed is a little boat; 

Nurse helps me in when I embark 
She girds me in my sailor's coat 
And starts me in the dark. 

At night, I go on board and say 

Good night to all my friends on shore; 

I shut my eyes and sail away 
And see and hear no more. 



77 



And sometimes things to bed I take. 
As prudent sailors have to do : 

Perhaps a sUce of wedding-cake, 
Perhaps a toy or two. 

All night across the dark we steer: 
But when the day returns at last, 

Safe in my room, beside the pier, 
I find my vessel fast. 



78 



XXXII 

THE MOON 

nPHE moon has a face like the clock in the 
hall; 

She shines on thieves on the garden wall. 

On streets and fields and harbour quays, 

And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees. 

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse, 
The howUng dog by the door of the house, 
The bat that Hes in bed at noon, 
All love to be out by the light of the moon. 



79 



But all of the things that belong to the day 
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way; 
And flowers and children close their eyes 
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise. 




The Swing 

Up in the air and down 



XXXIII 

THE SWING 

TTOW do you like to go up in a swing, 

Up in the air so blue? 
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing 
Ever a child can do! 

Up in the air and over the wall. 

Till I can see so wide. 
Rivers and trees and cattle and all 

Over the countryside — 



81 



Till I look down on the garden green, 
Down on the roof so brown — 

Up in the air I go flying again. 
Up in the air and down! 



XXXIV 



TIME TO RISE 



A BIRDIE with a yellow bill 

Hopped upon the window sill, 
Cocked his shining eye and said: 
'Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head?' 



88 



XXXV 

LOOKLXG-GLASS EBTR 

SMOOTH it slides upon its travel, 
Here a wimple, there a gleam — 
O the clean gravel I 
O the smooth stream! 

Sailing blossoms, silver fishes, 
Paven pools as clear as air — 
How a child wishes 
To live down there! 



84 



We can see our coloured faces 
Floating on the shaken pool 
Down in cool places. 
Dim and very cool; 

Till a wind or water wrinkle, 

Dipping marten, plumping trout. 
Spreads in a twinkle 
And blots all out. 



85 



See the rings pmsoe each other; 

All below grows black as night. 
Just as if mother 
Had blown out the tight! 

Patience, children, just a minute- 
See the spreading circles die; 
The stream and all in it 

Will clear bv-and-by. 



XXXVI 

FAIRY BREAD 

/^OME up here, O dusty feet! 

Here is fairy bread to eat. 
Here in my retiring room. 

Children, you may dine 
On the golden smell of broom 

And the shade of pine; 
And when you have eaten well. 
Fairy stories hear and tell. 



87 



xxxvn 

FROM A RAILWAY CARRIAGE 

TOASTER than fairies, faster than witches. 
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches ; 
And charging along Hke troops in a battle, 
All through the meadows the horses and cattle: 
All the sights of the hill and the plain 
Fly as thick as driving rain; 
And ever again, in the wink of an eye. 
Painted stations whistle by. 



Here is a child who clambers and scrambles. 
All by himself and gathering brambles; 
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes; 
And there is the green for stringing the daisies ! 
Here is a cart run away in the road 
Lumping along with man and load; 
And here is a mill and there is a river: 
Each a glimpse and gone forever! 



XXXVIII 



WINTER-TIME 



T ATE lies the wintry sun a-bed, 

A frosty, fiery sleepy-head; 
Blinks but an hour or two; and then, 
A blood-red orange, sets again. 

Before the stars have left the skies. 
At morning in the dark I rise; 
And shivering in my nakedness. 
By the cold candle, bathe and dress. 



90 



Clos6 by the jolly fire I sit 

To warm my frozen bones a bit; 

Or with a reindeer-sled, explore 

The colder comitries romid the door. 

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap 
Me in my comforter and cap: 
The cold wind burns my face, and blows 
Its frosty pepper up my nose. 



91 



Black are my steps on silver sod; 
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; 
And tree and house, and hill and lake, 
Are frosted hke a wedding-cake. 



9S 




The Hayloft 

The mice that in these mountains dwell 
No happier are than I 



XXXIX 

THE HAYLOFT 

npHROUGH all the pleasant meadow-side 

The grass grew shoulder-high. 
Till the shining scythes went far and wide 
And cut it down to dry. 

These green and sweetly smelling crops 

They led in waggons home; 
And they piled them here in mountain tops 

For mountaineers to roam. 



9S 



Here is Mount Clear, Mount Rusty-Nail, 
Mount Eagle and Mount High; — 

The mice that in these mountains dwell. 
No happier are than I! 

O what a joy to clamber there, 

O what a place for play. 
With the sweet, the dim, the dusty air. 

The happy hills of hay. 



94 



XL 

FAREWELL TO THE FARM 

npHE coach is at the door at last; 

The eager children, mounting fast 
And kissing hands, in chorus sing: 
Good-bye, good-bye, to everything! 

To house and garden, field and lawn. 
The meadow-gates we swang upon, 
To pump and stable, tree and swing. 
Good-bye, good-bye, to everything! 



95 



And &ze you wdl far evemuKe, 
O ladder at tiir L loft door, 

O hs^c:: "■r.cie uie ciowebs cHng, 
Gk)od-bye, good-bye, to everythiiig! 

CrskA goes the idiip, and o5 ^e go; 

The trees snd houses smaller gT^: — : 
Last, loond the woody turn "e s~l^ 
G:oa-:.vc, gcia-bye, to everything! 



XLI 

NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 

1. GOOD NIGHT 

IXTHEN the bright lamp is carried in. 

The sunless hours again begin; 
O'er all without, in field and lane. 
The haunted night returns again. 

Now we behold the embers flee 
About the firelit hearth; and see 
Our faces painted as we pass. 
Like pictures, on the window-glass. 



97 



Must we to bed indeed? Well then, 
Let us arise and go like men. 
And face with an undaunted tread 
The long black passage up to bed. 

Farewell, O brother, sister, sire! 
O pleasant party round the fire! 
The songs you sing, the tales you tell, 
Till far to-morrow, fare ye well! 



98 



2. SHADOW MARCH 

All round the house is the jet-black night; 

It stares through the window-pane; 
It crawls in the corners, hiding from the light. 

And it moves with the moving flame. 

Now my little heart goes a-beating like a drum. 

With the breath of the Bogie in my hair; 

And all round the candle the crooked shadows 
come 

And go marching along up the stair. 



99 



The shadow of the balusters, the shadow of 
the lamp. 

The shadow of the child that goes to bed — 

All the wicked shadows coming, tramp, tram.p, 
tramp, 

With the black ni^ht overhead. 



100 



3. IN PORT 

Last, to the chamber where I he 
My fearful footsteps patter nigh. 
And come from out the cold and gloom 
Into my warm and cheerful room. 

There, safe arrived, we turn about 
To keep the coming shadows out, 
And close the happy door at last 
On all the perils that we past. 



101 



Then, when mamma goes by to bed, 
She shall come in with tip-toe tread. 
And see me l^ing warm and fast 
And in the Land of Nod at last. 



102 



THE CHILD ALONE 



THE UNSEEN PLAYMATE 

l^^HEN children are playing alone on the 
green, 

In comes the playmate that never was seen. 

When children are happy and lonely and good, 

The Friend of the Children comes out of the 
wood. 

Nobody heard him and nobody saw. 

His is a picture you never could draw. 

But he's sure to be present, abroad or at 
home, 

When children are happy and playing alone. 



105 



He lies in the laurels, he runs on the grass. 
He sings when you tinkle the musical glass; 
Whene'er you are happy and cannot tell why. 
The Friend of the Children is sure to be by! 

He loves to be Httle, he hates to be big, 

'T is he that inhabits the caves that you dig; 

'T is he when you play with your soldiers of 
tin 

That sides with the Frenchmen and never can 
win. 



106 



'T is he, when at night you go off to your bed. 

Bids you go to your sleep and not trouble your 
head; 

For wherever they're lying, in cupboard or 
shelf, 

'T is he will take care of your playthings 
himself! 



107 




My Ship and I 

And my ship it keeps a-turning all around and all about 



II 



MY SHIP AND I 



/^ IT'S I that am the captain of a tidy Httle 
ship, 

Of a ship that goes a-saihng on the pond ; 

And my ship it keeps a-turning all around and 
all about; 

But when I'm a little older, I shall jBnd the 
secret out 

How to send my vessel sailing on beyond. 



For I mean to grow as little as the dolly at 
the helm. 

And the dolly I intend to come alive; 



109 



And with him beside to help me, it's a-saihng 
I shall go, 

It's a-saihng on the water, when the jolly 
breezes blow 

And the vessel goes a divie-divie dive. 



O it's then you'll see me saiHng through the 
rushes and the reeds. 

And you'll hear the water singing at the 
prow; 

For beside the dolly sailor, I'm to voyage and 
explore. 

To land upon the island where no dolly was 
before, 

And to fire the penny cannon in the bow. 



110 



Ill 



MY KINGDOM 

T^OWN by a shining water well 
I found a very little dell. 

No higher than my head. 
The heather and the gorse about 
In summer bloom were coming out. 

Some yellow and some red. 

I called the little pool a sea; 
The little hills were big to me; 

For I am very small. 
I made a boat, I made a town, 
I searched the caverns up and down. 

And named them one and all. 

Ill 



And all about was mine. I said. 
The little sparrows overhead, 

The httle minnows too. 
This was the world and I was king; 
For me the bees came by to sing. 

For me the swallows flew. 

I played there were no deeper seas, 
Xor any wider plams than these, 

Xor other kings than me. 
At last I heard my mother call 
Out from the house at evenfall, 

To call me home to tea. 



112 



And I must rise and leave my dell. 
And leave my dimpled water well. 

And leave my heather blooms. 
Alas! and as my home I neared, 
How very big my nurse appeared. 

How great and cool the rooms! 



113 



IV 



PICTURE-BOOKS IN WINTER 

OUMMER fading, winter comes — 

Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs. 
Window robins, winter rooks. 
And the picture story-books. 

Water now is turned to stone 
Nurse and I can walk upon; 
Still we find the flowing brooks 
In the picture story-books. 



115 



All the pretty things put by. 
Wait upon the children's eye, 
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks. 
In the picture story-books. 

We may see how all things are. 
Seas and cities, near and far. 
And the flying fairies' looks. 
In the picture story-books. 



116 



How am I to sing your praise, 
Happy chimney-corner days. 
Sitting safe in nursery nooks, 
Reading picture story-books? 



117 



MY TREASURES 

nPHESE nuts, that I keep in the back of 
the nest 

Where all my lead soldiers are lying at rest, 

Were gathered in autumn by nursie and me 

In a wood with a well by the side of the sea. 

This whistle we made (and how clearly it 
sounds !) 

By the side of a field at the end of the grounds. 

Of a branch of a plane, with a knife of my 
own. 

It was nursie who made it, and nursie alone! 



119 



The stone, with the white and the yellow and 
grey, 

We discovered I cannot tell how far away; 

And I carried it back although weary and cold. 

For though father denies it, I'm sure it is gold. 

But of all of my treasures the last is the king. 

For there's very few children possess such a 
thing; 

And that is a chisel, both handle and blade. 

Which a man who was really a carpenter made. 



120 



VI 



BLOCK CITY 

T^T'HAT are you able to build with your 
blocks? 

Castles and palaces, temples and docks. 

Rain may keep raining, and others go roam. 

But I can be happy and building at home. 

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea, 

There I'll establish a city for me: 

A kirk and a mill and a palace beside. 

And a harbour as well where my vessels may 
ride. 



121 



Great is the palace with pillar and wall, 
A sort c: r. :':~er on the top of it aU, 
And steps coming down in an orderly way 
To where my toy vessels He safe in the bay. 

This one is saiKng and that one is moored: 
Hark to the song of the sailors on board! 
And see on the steps of my palace, the kings 
Coming and going with presents and things I 



Now I have done with it, down let it go! 
AH in a moment the town is laid low. 
Block upon block lying scattered and free. 
What is there left of my town by the sea? 

Yet as I saw it, I see it again. 

The kirk and the palace, the ships and the 
men. 

And as long as I live and where'er I may be, 

I'll always remember my town by the sea. 



12S 



vn 

THE LAND OF STORY-BOOKS 

AT evening when the lamp is lit, 
Around the fire my parents sit; 
They sit at home and talk and sing. 
And do not play at anything. 

Now, with my little gun, I crawl 
All in the dark along the wall. 
And follow round the forest track 
Away behind the sofa back. 



125 



There, in the night, where none can spy. 
All in my hunter's camp I lie. 
And play at bcx)ks that I have read 
TOl it is time to go to bed. 

Tlese are the hiDs, these are the wood; 
These are my starry soHtudes; 

And there the river by whose brink 
The roaring hons come to drink. 



1?6 



I see the others far away 
As if in fireht camp they lay. 
And I, Kke to an Indian scout, 
Around their party prowled about. 

So, when my nurse comes in for me. 
Home I return across the sea, 
And go to bed with backward looks 
At my dear land of Story-books. 



127 



VIII 

ARMIES IN THE FIRE 

npHE lamps now glitter down the street; 

Faintly sound the falling feet; 
And the blue even slowly falls 
About the garden trees and walls. 

Now in the falling of the gloom 
The red fire paints the empty room: 
And warmly on the roof it looks, 
And flickers on the backs of books. 



12^ 



Armies marcli by tower and spire 
Of cities blazing, in the fire; — 

Till as I gaze with staring eyes. 
The armies fade, the lustre dies. 

Then once again the glow returns; 
Again the phantom city bums; 
And down the red-hot valley, lol 
The phantom armies marching go! 



130 



Blinking embers, tell me true 
Where are those armies marching to, 
And what the burning city is 
That crumbles in your furnaces ! 



isi 



IX 

THE LITTLE LAND 

TTIZHEN at home alone I sit 

And am very tired of it, 
I have just to shut my eyes 
To go sailing through the skies — 
To go saiHng far away 
To the pleasant Land of Play; 
To the fairy land afar 
Where the Little People are; 
Where the clover-tops are trees. 
And the rain-pools are the seas. 
And the leaves Uke httle ships 
Sail about on tiny trips; 



133 



And above the daisy tree 
Through the grasses. 

High overhead the Bumble Bee 
Hums and passes. 

In that forest to and fro 
I can wander, I can go; 
See the spider and the fly. 
And the ants go marching by 
Carrying parcels with their feet 
Down the green and grassy street. 
I can in the sorrel sit 
Where the ladybird alit. 



134 




The Little Land 

In that forest to and fro 
I can wander, I can go 



I can climb the jointed grass; 

And on high 
See the greater swallows pass 

In the sky, 
And the round sun rolling by 
Heeding no such things as I. 

Through that forest I can pass 
Till, as in a looking-glass, 
Humming fly and daisy tree 
And my tiny seK I see. 
Painted very clear and neat 
On the rain-pool at my feet. 



1S5 



Should a leaflet come to land 
Drifting near to where I stand. 
Straight I'll board that tiny boat 
Round the rain-pool sea to float. 

Little thoughtful creatures sit 
On the grassy coasts of it; 
Little things with lovely eyes 
See me sailing with surprise. 
Some are clad in armour green — 
(These have sure to battle been!)- 



136 



Some are pied with ev'ry hue. 
Black and crimson, gold and blue; 
Some have wings and swift are gone;- 
But they all look kindly on. 

When my eyes I once again 
Open, and see all things plain: 
High bare walls, great bare floor; 
Great big knobs on drawer and door; 
Great big people perched on chairs. 
Stitching tucks and mending tears. 
Each a hill that I could climb. 
And talking nonsense all the time — 



137 



O dear me. 

That I could be 
A sailor on the rain-pool sea, 
A climber in the clover tree, 
And just come back, a sleepy-head. 
Late at night to go to bed. 



GARDEN DAYS 



NIGHT AND DAY 

T ]1 /"HEN the golden day is done, 
Through the closing portal, 
Child and garden, flower and sun. 
Vanish all things mortal. 

As the blinding shadows fall. 

As the rays diminish. 
Under evening's cloak, they all 

Roll away and vanish. 



141 



Garden darkened, daisy shut. 
Child in bed, they slumber — 

Glow-worm in the highway rut. 
Mice among the Iimiber. 

In the darkness houses shine. 
Parents move with candles; 

Till on all, the night divine 
Turns the bedroom handles. 



142 



Till at last the day begins 
In the east a-breaking, 

In the hedges and the whins 
Sleeping birds a-waking. 

In the darkness shapes of things, 
Houses, trees, and hedges. 

Clearer grow; and sparrow's wings 
Beat on window ledges. 



143 



These shall wake llie yawiiiug maid; 

She the door shall open — 

Finding dew on garden glade 

And the nmning broken. 

There my garden grow? again 

Green and rosy painted, 
As at eve behind the pane 

From mv eves it fainted. 



iM 



Just as it was shut away. 
Toy-like, in the even, 

Here I see it glow with day 
Under glowing heaven. 

Every path and every plot, 
Every bush of roses, 

Every blue forget-me-not 
Where the dew reposes. 



10 145 



"Up !" they cry, "the day is come 
On the smiling valleys; 

We have beat the morning drum; 
Playmate, join your alhes!" 



146 



II 



NEST EGGS 

jDIRDS all the sunny day- 
Flutter and quarrel 
Here in the arbour-like 
Tent of the laurel. 

Here in the fork 

The brown nest is seated; 
Four little blue eggs 

The mother keeps heated. 



147 



While we stand watching her. 

Staring hke gabies. 
Safe in each egg are the 

Bird's httle babies. 

Soon the frail eggs they shall 
Chip, and upspringing 

Make all the April woods 
Merry with singing. 



148 



Younger than we are, 
O children, and frailer. 

Soon in blue air they'll be, 
Singer and sailor. 

We, so much older, 
Taller and stronger, 

We shall look down on the 
Birdies no longer. 



140 



They shall go flying 
With musical speeches 

High overhead in the 
Tops of the beeches. 

In spite of our wisdom 
And sensible talking, 

We on our feet must go 
Plodding and walking. 



150 



ni 



THE FLOWERS 

A LL the names I know from nurse: 

Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse. 
Bachelor's buttons. Lady's smock. 
And the lady Hollyhock. 

Fairy places, fairy things. 
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings, 
Tiny trees for tiny dames — 
These must all be fairy names! 



151 



"Kny woods below whose boughs 
Shady fairies weave a house; 
Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme. 
Where the braver fairies ehmbl 

Fair are grown-up people's trees. 

But the fairest woods are these; 
Where, if I were not so tall. 



I should hve for good and alL 



15i 



IV 



SUMMER SUN 

/^REAT is the sun, and wide he goes 

Through empty heaven without repose; 
And in the blue and glowing days 
More thick than rain he showers his rays 

Though closer still the blinds we pull 
To keep the shady parlour cool. 
Yet he will find a chink or two 
To slip his golden fingers through. 



153 



The dusty attic spider-clad 
He. through the keyhole, maketh glad; 
And through the broken edge of tile^. 
Into the laddered hayloft smiles. 

Meantime his golden face around 
He bares to all the garden groimd, 
And sheds a warm and ghttering look 
Anions: the i\'^''s inmost nook. 



154 



Above the hills, along the blue. 
Round the bright air with footing true. 
To please the child, to paint the rose. 
The gardener of the World, he goes. 



155 



THE DUMB SOLDIER 

TTITHEN the grass was closely mown. 

Walking on the lawn alone. 
In the turf a hole I found 
And hid a soldier underground. 

Spring and daisies came apace; 
Grasses hide my hiding place; 
Grasses run like a green sea 
O'er the lawn up to my knee. 



157 



Under grass alone he lies. 
Looking up with leaden eyes, 
Scarlet coat and pointed gun. 
To the stars and to the sun. 

When the grass is ripe hke grain 
When the scythe is stoned again, 
When the lawn is shaven clear. 
Then my hole shall reappear. 



158 



I shall find him, never fear, 
I shall find my grenadier; 
But for all that's gone and come, 
I shall find my soldier dumb. 

He has lived, a little thing. 
In the grassy woods of spring; 
Done, if he could tell me true. 
Just as I should like to do. 



159 



He has seen the starry hours 
And the sprmging of the flowers; 
And the fairy things that pass 
In the forests of the grass. 

In the silence he has heard 
Talking bee and ladybird. 
And the butterfly has flown 
O'er him as he lay alone. 



160 



Not a word will he disclose. 
Not a word of all he knows. 
I must lay him on the shelf. 
And make up the tale myself. 



11 161 



VI 

AUTUMN FIRES 

TN the other gardens 

And all up the vale, 
From the autumn bonfires 
See the smoke trail! 

Pleasant summer over 

And all the summer flowers. 
The red fire blazes, 

The grey smoke towers. 



163 



vMZlZ £j 50IliZ •-'! ^-cH SOILS 



Flowers iz: tie siicii 
Rres 1: the fafl! 



~~ i 



lei 



VII 

THE GARDENER 

TpHE gardener does not love to talk, 
He makes me keep the gravel walk; 
And when he puts his tools away, 
He locks the door and takes the key. 

Away behind the currant row 
Where no one else but cook may go, 
Far in the plots, I see him dig. 
Old and serious, brown and big. 



165 



He digs the flowers, green, red, and blue, 
Nor wishes to be spoken to. 
He digs the flowers and cuts the hay. 
And never seems to want to play. 

Silly gardener! summer goes. 
And winter comes with pinching toes, 
When in the garden bare and brown 
You must lay your barrow down. 



166 



Well now, and while the summer stays. 
To profit by these garden days, 
O how much wiser you would be 
To play at Indian wars with me! 



167 



VIII 

fflSTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 

1~\EAR Uncle Jim, this garden ground 

That now you smoke your pipe around. 
Has seen immortal actions done 
And valiant battles lost and won. 

Here we had best on tip-toe tread, 
While I for safety march ahead. 
For this is that enchanted ground 
Where all who loiter slumber sound. 



169 



Here is the sea, here is the sand. 
Here is simple Shepherd's Land, 
Here are the fair\' hollyhocks, 
And there are Ah Baba's rocks. 

But yonder, see I apart and high. 
Frozen Siberia Hes; where I, 
With Robert Bruce and Wilhani Tell, 
Was bound by an enchanter's spell. 



170 



There, then, awhile in chains we lay, 
In wintry dungeons, far from day; 
But ris'n at length, with might and main. 
Our iron fetters burst in twain. 

Then all the horns were blown in town; 
And to the ramparts clanging down, 
All the giants leaped to horse 
And charged behind us through the gorse. 



171 



On we rode, the others and I, 
Over the mountains blue, and by 
The Silver River, the sounding sea. 
And the robber woods of Tartary. 

A thousand miles we galloped fast, 
And down the witches' lane we passed. 
And rode amain, with brandished sword, 
Up to the middle, through the ford. 



17a 



Last we drew rein — a weary three — 
Upon the lawn, in time for tea, 
And from our steeds alighted down 
Before the gates of Babylon. 



173 



ENVOYS 



TO WILLIE AND HENRIETTA 

TF two may read aright 

These rhymes of old deUght 
And house and garden play, 
You two, my cousins, and you only, may. 

You in a garden green 
With me were king and queen, 
Were hunter, soldier, tar. 
And all the thousand things that children are. 



12 177 



Now in the elders' seat 
We rest with quiet feet, 
And from the window-bay 
We watch the children, our successors, play. 

"Time was," the golden head 
Irrevocably said; 
But time which none can bind. 
While flowing fast away, leaves love behind. 



178 



II 



TO MY MOTHER 



A/OU too, my mother, read my rhymes 

For love of unforgotten times. 
And you may chance to hear once more 
The Httle feet along the floor. 



179 



Ill 



TO AUNTIE 

/^HIEF of our aunts — not only I, 

But all your dozen of nurslings cry- 
What did the other children do? 
And what were childhood, wanting you? 



180 



IV 



TO MINNIE 



THHE red room with the giant bed 

Where none but elders laid their head ; 
The little room where you and I 
Did for awhile together lie 
And, simple suitor, I your hand 
In decent marriage did demand; 
The great day nursery, best of all. 
With pictures pasted on the wall 
And leaves upon the blind — 
A pleasant room wherein to wake 
And hear the leafy garden shake 



181 



And rustle in the wind — 

And pleasant there to lie in bed 

And see the pictures overhead — 

The wars about Sebastopol, 

The grinning guns along the wall. 

The daring escalade, 

The plunging ships, the bleating sheep, 

The happy children ankle-deep 

And laughing as they wade: 

All these are vanished clean away, 

And the old manse is changed today; 

It wears an altered face 

And shields a stranger race. 

The river, on from mill to mill, 

Flows past our childhood's garden still; 



182 



But ah! we children never more 
Shall watch it from the water-door! 
Below the yew — it still is there — 
Our phantom voices haunt the air 
As we were still at play, 
And I can hear them call and say: 
"How far is it to Babylon?^' 

Ah, far enough, my dear. 

Far, far enough from here — 

Yet you have farther gone! 

"Can I get there by candlelight?^^ 

So goes the old refrain. 

I do not know — ^perchance you might- 

But only, children, hear it right. 

Ah, never to return again! 

183 



The eternal dawn, beyond a doubt. 
Shall break on hill and plain. 
And put all stars and candles out. 
Ere we be young again. ' 

To you in distant India, these 

I send across the seas. 

Nor count it far across. 

For which of us forgets 

The Indian cabinets. 

The bones of antelope, the wings of 
albatross. 

The pied and painted birds and beans. 

The junks and bangles, beads and screens. 

The gods and sacred bells. 

And the loud-humming, twisted shells? 

184 



The level of the parlour floor 
Was honest, homely, Scottish shore; 
But when we climbed upon a chair. 
Behold the gorgeous East was there! 
Be this a fable; and behold 
Me in the parlour as of old. 
And Minnie just above me set 
In the quaint Indian cabinet! 
Smiling and kind, you grace a shelf 
Too high for me to reach myself. 
Reach down a hand, my dear, and take 
These rhymes for old acquaintance' sake. 



185 



TO MY NAME-CHILD 



QOME day soon this rhyming volume, if 
you learn with proper speed. 

Little Louis Sanchez, will be given you to 
read. 

Then shall you discover, that your name was 
printed down 

By the English printers, long before, in London 
town. 



187 



In the great and busy city where the East and 
West are met, 

All the httle letters did the Enghsh printer set ; 

TMiile you thought of nothing, and were still 
too young to play. 

Foreign people thought of you in places far 
away. 

Ay, and while you slept, a baby, over all the 
Enghsh lands 

Other httle children took the volume in their 

hands ; 

Other children questioned, in their homes 
across the seas: 

\Mio was little Louis, won't you tell us, mother, 
please? 



i^s 



Now that you have spelt your lesson, lay it 
down and go and play, 

Seeking shells and seaweed on the sands of 
Monterey, 

Watching all the mighty whalebones, lying 
buried by the breeze. 

Tiny sandy-pipers, and the huge Pacific seas. 



And remember in your playing, as the sea-fog 
rolls to you. 

Long ere you could read it, how I told you 
what to do; 

And that while you thought of no one, nearly 
half the world away 

Some one thought of Louis on the beach of 
Monterey ! 



189 



VI 



TO ANY READER 

A S from the house your mother sees 

You playing round the garden trees. 
So you may see, if you will look 
Through the windows of this book. 
Another child, far, far away, 
And in another garden, play. 
But do not think you can at all, 
By knocking on the window, call 
That child to hear you. He intent 
Is all on his play-business bent. 



190 



He does not hear; he will not look. 
Nor yet be lured out of this book. 
For, long ago, the truth to say. 
He has grown up and gone away, 
And it is but a child of air 
That lingers in the garden there. 



191 



56 C 4 



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